Sheet metal cabinet leg fastening



1940 M. s. VINCENT SHEET METAL CABINET LEG FASTENING Filed Nov. 8, 1937 Patented Dec. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES SHEET METAL CABINET LEG FASTENING Merlin S. Vincent, Newton, Iowa, assignor to Automatic Washer Company, Newton, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Application November 8, 1937, Serial No. 173,542

2 Claims.

This invention pertains to a novel method of and means for securing legs, ornamental or structural stripping and other devices to sheet metal walls or articles, and, more particularly,

5 to a fastening device adapted to secure an article such as a sheet metal leg to the generally cylindrical sheet metal skirt of a washing machine or the like. 7

One of the'primary objects of the invention is to provide a simple and economic means of and method for securing a member such as a leg to a wall structure in such manner that the means and method of connection are completely concealed from the view of the observer. 15 Another important object is to provide fastening means of the character mention-ed so constructed and arranged that the parts to be secured together thereby may be quickly and easi- 1y assembled and fastened together with a minimum of efiort and time, and so that the parts when so assembled and secured will be tight and substantially rigidly secured together.

Many other objects as well as the advantages and uses of the invention will be or should become apparent after reading the following description and claims and after viewing the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of a washing machine skirt with leg portions attached thereto in accordance with a preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially along the line 11-11 of Fig; 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of fragments of the skirt and leg structure shown in Fig. 1 but on an enlarged scale, illustrating a step in the method by which the leg and the skirt may be secured together, and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to the view of Fig. 3 illustrating a final step in the method of assembling the leg to the skirt.

In the embodiment of the invention chosen for illustrative purposes 5 designates a representative showing of a washing machine skirt composed of sheet metal and having an enameled or otherwise decorated exterior surface. To the skirt one or more ornamental legs 6 is or are to be secured. Since it would be difiicult, if not impossible, to form the legs integral with the skirt, and since welding the same thereto is objectionable from the standpoints of costs and other reasons, and since it is desirable to conceal the means by which the legs are attached to the skirt, I have devised the means and method hereinafter described. It may be mentioned here that the skirt is cylindrical, which increases the difficulty of forming and maintaining a tight connection between the legs and the skirt.

In accordance with the invention the wall of the skirt 5 is perforated as at l to provide apertures through which a fastening means carried by the leg is adapted to be disposed. In the-embodiment shown a struck metal strap 8, portions of which are conformed to the interior surface of the leg 6, are welded as at 9 by a spot weld or otherwise to the inside surfaces. Each end of the strap 8 is formed to provide a U-shaped projection as illustrated in Fig. 3 with the bottoms I l of the Us direct-ed in opposite directions, that is, the open sides of the U-shaped projections being directed toward one another. The sides l2 are of a heighth and distance apart sufiicient to permit the projections to be inserted through the apertures I to the interior sides or surface of the skirt 5. After the projections have been disposed through the apertures I the side portions l2 of the U-shaped projections are bent backwardly.

as shown in Fig. 4. Since the skirt 5 is curved, the interior surface provides, in effect, a wedging action with respect to the portions H as the latter are bent or clinched back thereagainst as illustrated in Fig. 4 so that the net effect is to draw the leg 6 tightly against the outer surface of the skirt wall. It will be observed from Figs. 1 and 2 that the side edges of the leg 6 are designed to abut against the outer surface of the wall of the skirt when the U-shaped projections on the ends of the strap 8 have just passed through the apertures 1 and are alsodesigned to extend beyond the edges defining the apertures 1 so that the apertures are completely concealed from the view of the observer. Of course, the bottom portions II of the U-shaped projections are arranged to lie substantially against the edge of the aperture which is adjacent to the corresponding abutting edge of the leg.

It is not necessary, of course, to have the apertures I spaced from one another in the same circumferential line about the skirt for they may be staggered relative to one another as respects.

opposite sides of the leg. Furthermore, there may be but two apertures and corresponding fastening means, one on each side of the leg, or there may be as many as desired. The fastening means may be independent of one another, that is need not have the bridging piece although the bridging piece adds considerable strength, but the metal of which the U-shaped fastening projections are composed should be of sufficient gauge to withstand the stresses which may be imposed thereon.

It should be appreciated and understood that the invention is susceptible of application to straight walled structures provided some wedging surface is provided on the inside of the wall and against and with which the tongue or side portions 12 of the projections may be bent into engagement to effect the drawing together of the parts and their security in that position. Also ornamental strips and strips designed to add strength to a particular construction and other devices may be applied after the same manner and, without departing from the scope of the invention, fastening projections may be made integral or otherwise secured to the part of the member to be applied to another member. Many other changes and modifications may be devised by those skilled in the art. For such reason I do not desire to be limited except by the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a sheet metal skirt for a device such as a washing machine, said skirt having a convexly curved interior wall surface and having apertures in spaced relation to one another extending therethrough at said convexly curved wall surface, a leg member disposed against the exterior surface of said skirt opposite to said curved surface and having portions covering said apertures, means secured to said leg member and extending through said apertures to the said interior wall surface, and clinching tab means integral with said secured means bendable into edgewise wedging engagement with said convexly curved interior wall surface.

2. Fastening means for securing stamped metal legs or the like to sheet metal cabinets comprising, rectangular apertures in the wall of the cabinet arranged in equi-spaced pairs, fastener strap members attached to the legs, projections on the ends of said strap members perpendicular to the legs extending through and bearing against all opposed edges of said paired apertures to hold the leg in fixed position in the cabinet against forces in all directions except outward from the cabinet, U-shaped tabs extending inward at right angles from said projections and parallel to the cabinet wall with their edges spaced from the leg a distance equal to the thickness of the cabinet wall whereby the leg is drawn against the cabinet by the wedging action of the tabs as they are bent perpendicular to the cabinet wall, forcing said wall into tightly fixed relationship to the leg by the spaced relationship of the tabs.

MERLIN S. VINCENT. 

